She's Special
by alicenotinwonderland
Summary: Hermione was the first friend Neville ever had and he has always been fond of her. But is a teenage crush all she deserves? A series of moments leading up to the Yule Ball from Neville and Hermione's relationship.


Hermione felt slightly out of place as she wandered down the corridor, holding onto the railing to keep her balance on the moving train. Perhaps she shouldn't have worn her robes so early after all. Everyone on the train seemed to be wearing normal clothes – not at all like that professor who had come to give her the letter or the wizards described in her textbooks. She tried to look confident. She'd read all about this new world she was joining. She wasn't going to stick out here.

She stopped suddenly, hearing a soft sniffing coming from the loo she was just passing. She bit her lip, wondering if she should ignore it and move on. But she had spent enough time crying in bathrooms to know that the person inside could do with some kindness. She knocked on the door. "Are you alright in there?" she asked.

There was the sound of scuffling and the bolt was drawn back. A short, slightly pudgy boy with a round, innocent face stepped out hurriedly. "I'm fine," he said, obviously trying not to let his voice shake. Hermione could see the tear tracks on his face that he hadn't quite managed to rub away. "I'm, um, going to go," the boy said awkwardly and stepped past her.

"Wait!" she called out. She walked up to the boy and held out her hand with a smile. "I'm Hermione Granger," she said kindly. "I'm a first year. Are you new too?"

The boy looked surprised but he shook her hand uncertainly. "I'm Neville Longbottom. Yes, I'm starting this year too."

"It's rather scary isn't it?" she said, standing next to him and watching the trees zoom past. "I've read all the books and learnt some spells but I didn't know all the funny things I could do was magic! I was quite nervous before getting on the train and seeing so many other people like me." She knew from experience that this boy needed someone to talk to about whatever had caused him to lock himself in that bathroom.

"I've grown up around magic all my life," Neville said. He wasn't sure why this girl was talking to him but he couldn't help answering her. There was something nice about her. "I wasn't very good at it when I was younger though."

"Are your parents magical too, then? My parents are dentists, they didn't believe in magic at all! They were quite shocked when they heard about Hogwarts!" So it wasn't nervousness that was bothering the boy, Hermione mused. Perhaps it was homesickness? "I was supposed to go to boarding school this year anyway but I think I'll really miss being home."

"What are dentists? Your parents are Muggles, I guess? My Gran can do magic and so can my aunts and uncles. I'm happy to be away from them all for a while, really. My Gran's quite strict so I think I'll like being at school. I hope I get into Gryffindor, that's the house my Dad was in," Neville replied. He was warming up to Hermione. Maybe – maybe she'd like to be his friend?

"Dentists take care of other people's teeth. Yes, my whole family's Muggle. I want to be in Gryffindor too. I've read all about it and it sounds like the best house. I hope I make a lot of friends there," Hermione said.

"Me too. I didn't have many friends growing up," Neville admitted. The kindness she was showing him was letting him open up to her. "I'm clumsy and forgetful. My Gran tried to get me to play with other magical kids but they were always talking about Quidditch or what sort of magic they did and I wasn't very good at either. I just liked being in our garden a lot but they weren't interested in plants."

"I know what that's like," Hermione said softly. "I liked to sit in a corner and read but the other kids at my school wanted to talk or play with their mother's dresses and makeup and stuff or they liked to play outside a lot so I didn't have many friends either."

Neville looked at her and the instant their eyes met; he knew that she understood exactly what it was like to be shunned by their peers. She understood what it was like to lock yourself in the bathroom just to be away from all the ridicule for a few minutes. "I met some of them just now," he sighed. "They made fun of me for bringing a toad and they scared him off. I don't know where he is. He was a present from my Uncle Algie for the first time I did magic."

Hermione drew herself up. "Well then, I think we should go find your toad. Those kids were mean but you need to show them who's boss. That's what my Dad always told me. Come on; let's see if anyone saw him. What's his name?"

"Trevor," Neville said. He followed Hermione Granger down the train, watching in awe as she talked bossily to people in all the compartments regardless of their age. He really hoped she'd be his friend.

* * *

"I can't believe I ran off with the Sorting Hat." Neville buried his head in his hands. He and Hermione sat in a corner of their new common room. They were tired but they were both too excited to sleep just yet. They were the odd kids, the ones who had never really believed they could actually be part of Hogwarts .Yet here they sat now, confirmed students of magic. That happiness of officially being accepted into a world – any world – still had to recede a bit before they could get to sleep.

"It's okay. On my first day of fourth grade, we had to play basketball – it's this Muggle game where get a ball into a basket. I somehow managed to run into the pole that has the basket, bounce off it and cause my whole team to fall _and _get hit by the ball right on my forehead. My whole class laughed at me."

"That's not too bad! You should hear about the time Trevor got loose at one of Gran's parties…"

They sat there for a long time, recounting childhood embarrassments. It was okay to tell each other. They had both finally found someone who understood.

* * *

"Why do you keep helping me?"

Hermione looked up. She was helping Neville with his homework in the library that evening. "Sorry, what?"

"You know Malfoy always picks on me. You heard what Ron said about how I make it easier for him by not standing up to him. I'm not brave. I'm hopeless at magic. Why do you hang out with me and help me out? You have Ron and Harry to be your friends. So why do you still stick around with me?"

She raised her eyebrows. "Are you telling me not to be your friend?"

"No, no!" Neville said hurriedly. "You have no idea how much it means to me that someone actually wants to be my friend but…I'm just wondering why."

Hermione put down her quill and looked Neville in the eye. "You know what my Dad always told me when I used to come home crying about all the kids who were mean to me? He used to say that they didn't like me because I was different. They preferred to make fun of me because they were too cowardly to pick on someone who would fight back. They found it easier to tease me and look down on me because I was smart and they weren't. My Dad always said people like me were special in our own way and that made us better than the bullies who bothered us.

"You're special too, Neville. That's why I like being friends with you. There's a reason you got into Hogwarts and into Gryffindor. Harry was right yesterday when he said you're worth twelve of Malfoy. I believe you have something special about you that'll make everyone else seem boring and ordinary. You just need to believe that about yourself."

* * *

Neville watched Hermione and he didn't like the way she looked at Lockhart.

He didn't like the way she could recite random facts from Lockhart's life. She was _his_ friend. He didn't like that she'd outlined her DADA classes with little hearts. He could compete with Ron and Harry. He could always try to improve at his magic. He'd stood up to Malfoy a couple of times now so he was improving at being brave. But he couldn't improve how he looked. And there was no way he'd look like Lockhart.

Why did it matter to him so much anyway?

It was then that he realised he had a crush on Hermione Granger.

* * *

"Thanks for helping me out in there. It wasn't fair of Snape to take points," Neville said, stroking Trevor with one finger. His round face was shiny and his hair was dishevelled but he looked relieved.

Hermione grinned at Neville. "I know how much Trevor means to you. Besides, it was a challenge and I liked it."

"Thanks a lot though. I wouldn't have liked to explain myself to Gran if anything had happened to Trevor."

"How is your grandmother?"

"She's well. I told her about you." Neville conveniently left out that she was all he'd talked about all summer. He still had a bit of a crush on her. They chatted for a while about her new classes after that but all Neville remembered from the conversation was the way her eyes sparkled when she talked about all the things she was learning.

* * *

Neville gazed at Hermione in wonder. He had no idea how she could be managing so many subjects at once. He walked over to her and deposited a stack of books and parchment on her table.

"What's this?" Hermione asked, rubbing her eyes tiredly.

"They're the books you'll need for your Charms essay," he informed her. "And these are Terry Boot's notes about your Ancient Runes homework. I found out that he was one of the best in the class."

She gaped at Neville. "I – er," she stuttered. She didn't know what to say. It was the nicest thing someone had ever done for her all year.

"I'd offer to do some of your homework but I guess you don't want to fail any of your classes," he grinned. "Look, I saw you were doing a lot of work and going to the library would have taken up time you don't seem to have to spare so I thought I'd help you out. These are the right books, aren't they? Nearly broke my neck when I almost fell off the ladder trying to get these."

Hermione found her voice. "Yeah, these are the right books."

"And I'll feed your cat for you if you like. I saw him wandering around near the stairs to the dorms."

Hermione nodded numbly. Everyone knew Neville was terrible with animals and he'd probably only end up getting scratched by Crookshanks. It was only when he was halfway across the room that she realised she hadn't thanked him. "Neville," she called. He turned. "Thank you! Thank you so much."

Neville smiled back and nodded. That brilliant smile was all the thanks he needed.

* * *

Neville looked over to where Hermione stood, arguing with Ron and Harry. They were probably arguing about what the Triwizard Tournament would be like. He watched the way her hair bounced endearingly around as she shook her head, obviously disagreeing with them

This was the year, Neville decided. He would gather up the courage to ask Hermione Granger out. He'd been mooning over her on and off for the past two years. It was time to prove why he was in Gryffindor. He'd been practising in front of the mirror all summer.

But then he saw the way she looked at Ron Weasley. The way her eyes lit up in a way they didn't around him. The way her face expressed so much emotion when she talked to Ron. She never showed so much feeling around him. But then, he never argued with her the way Ron did. He let her be bossy and listened to her all the time after all.

He considered whether it was really a good idea to ask her out. What if she wasn't attracted to him? What if she just helped him so much because she felt sorry for him like everyone else and knew what it was like to be made fun of? On the other hand, who knew, maybe he was reading her actions towards Ron wrong. Maybe she'd say yes.

He noticed the way she held Harry's arm without a thought but hesitated to do the same to Ron, choosing to look away (almost shyly) and call out to him to follow her instead.

Maybe not.

* * *

"Neville? Are you alright?"

Neville looked up at the sound of Hermione's soft voice. She settled down beside him on the comfortable sofa. There weren't many people in the common room just then. Everyone was at dinner so he wondered why she wasn't there. Not that he minded. He could sit there and listen to her beautiful voice all night.

"Neville? You still look a little peaky. Are you okay?"

Neville started as he realised he hadn't answered her previous question. "I'm fine," he muttered, not wanting to go into the details of his odd reaction to the demonstration of the Cruciatus Curse. "Professor Moody was actually very nice. He gave me this," he said, holding up his new book.

"I got you something too," said Hermione. She dug around in her pocket and pulled out three Sugar Quills. "I know they're your favourite."

"You remembered," said Neville. It was a conversation they'd had sometime long ago in Hogsmeade about how he hated Chocolate Frogs because they reminded him of Trevor but he loved Sugar Quills. He couldn't believe she remembered that, despite her amazing memory.

"I remember things about my friends." She smiled at him. "Coming down to dinner?"

Neville tried to look nonchalant. "Yeah, you go ahead. I'll be down soon."

He waited till she had stepped out of the room before burying his head in his hands. For one thing, he was elated that she cared enough to remember such an insignificant detail about him.

On the other hand, he was so terribly disappointed that she only thought of him as a friend.

* * *

Neville pulled his bag up and squared his shoulders. He was going to do it. He was going to take a leap of faith. He didn't care that she might reject him – well, okay, he did care. But he wasn't going to think that just because she thought of him as a friend, she might not feel anything else for him and not ask her at all. He was going to take that chance. She was the one who'd taught him that anything was possible with a little confidence after all.

"Hermione? Could I have a word?" He'd approached her just when Harry and Ron were washing up at the corner of the dungeon. Granted, he could have probably asked her to the Yule Ball in a better, more romantic place than the Potions classroom, but he didn't want anyone to see him and ridicule him. This was hard enough without all the extra spectators – especially the Slytherins. He had to ask her fast. Surely, there were other boys who'd noticed how pretty and kind and amazing she was! She'd be getting loads of other invitations. He had to ask her before Ron did.

"Sure, what is it?" Hermione asked, putting away her books. She looked at him and Neville tripped over one of the stools. "Oh! Are you alright?" she asked concernedly.

Neville straightened up, ignoring the throbbing pain in his stubbed toe. "I'm fine. Pretend that didn't happen. So, er, how are you?"

She gave him a strange look. "Er, I'm fine?"

"Fine! That's good. Yeah, that's great. I – er – I'm fine too." They'd been friends for ages, why couldn't he talk to her like he always did?

"Okay…?" Hermione looked bemused. Neville was cursing himself. Why couldn't he just talk to her like he'd practised in front of the bathroom mirror? It was a simple sentence! "You wanted to talk to me about something?" she prompted.

"I – er – I wanted to ask – willyougototheballwithme?" The words spilled out in a rush.

She smiled confusedly at him. "Er, could you say that a bit slower, Neville?"

He took a deep breath. This was it. "Will you go to the Yule Ball with me? I mean, you've always been nice to me and I thought…" he trailed off.

"Oh. Oh!"

Neville's heart sank. 'Oh' wasn't exactly the answer he'd been hoping for.

"Oh Neville, I'm so sorry but someone's already asked me and I said yes. I didn't think – I'm so sorry." She looked at him nervously.

Neville felt like his heart was somewhere near his feet now, like he'd been deflated. "That's alright," he said. He looked at Hermione. She seemed shy and happy and excited at the mention of the lucky guy who'd asked her out. Neville couldn't bring himself to spoil that for her. "It's okay. I – er – I hope you have a great time."

"I'm sure you'll find someone else. You're really nice and you're one of the sweetest boys I know. I bet there will be loads of girls who'd want to go with you," she said, chewing on her lip guiltily. But from the way she looked at him, Neville knew that she felt guilty about hurting his feelings, not about being unable to go with him.

Neville looked at her and smiled. They both knew that no girl would want to go with bumbling, forgetful Neville Longbottom. But here she was, still trying to make him feel better and help him. He couldn't let on that he was discouraged and make her feel _bad_ about going with someone else. "Yeah," he said brightly. "I'll ask someone else."

"How about Ginny Weasley? She's a nice girl and she's not going with anyone else as far as I know," Hermione suggested.

Neville nodded. "I'll ask her. Thanks Hermione!"

"I'm sorry," she said again.

But as he walked away, fully aware now that she didn't return the kind of feelings he had for her, he thought that she shouldn't apologise to him. She had been asked out by someone who saw past the bookworm and the bossy know-it-all and the boring stickler for rules. Someone else had seen exactly how wonderful she was. He knew that Hermione deserved someone better than him. She should be with the person who would feel more for her than a little teenage crush.

She deserved to be with the person who made her feel special.

* * *

**Please do review :)**

******This is an odd pairing but they actually are adorable! I might write a few friendship stories with these two. They are so similar yet so different.**

******This was for round 3 of the Quidditch League Fanfiction Competition. As Chaser 1, I had to write about an assigned rare pair from the trio era. The optional prompts used were: "wonder", "maybe, maybe not" and "Pretend that didn't happen"**


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